March 31 will be the last day the Somerville Stock Exchange (SSE) community art project will be open. Until then, people are welcome to participate, but as of April 1st, the project will be over.

The Somerville Stock Exchange is a community forum, a fundraiser, and a different take on what a stock exchange can be!

Since March 31, 2012, they’ve been gathering information on what members of the Somerville community have been doing to make the city’s community life, creative life, and environment better. These include individual actions such as volunteering, helping neighbors, and practical tips. All of the information we’ve gathered has been going on their website; into quarterly reports; and will go into a final book.

They’ve also been encouraging people to donate money to our partner nonprofits: the Somerville Homeless Coalition, Somerville Climate Action, and the Somerville Arts Council.

The goal of the Exchange is to encourage people to take a more active role in their community; to give people the chance to see what others are doing for their community; to raise awareness and funds for three important nonprofits; and to document some of the things that make Somerville the place it is in 2012 and 2013.

As people tell them things they’ve done; as they donate money; and as they learn of news stories that affect life in Somerville, the “values” of “Somerville stocks” go up and down.

On April 2nd, they will announce the final “values” of “Somerville stocks” on their website. They will also have a PDF of a book that people can download. In the future, they hope to be able to make print copies of this book available.

This project is run by Somerville artist Tim Devin. All funds raised go directly to our partner nonprofits: the Somerville Homeless Coalition, Somerville Climate Action, and the Somerville Arts Council.